The StealthStudio Van

Work truck vibe on the outside…

…modern studio apartment vibe on the inside

The Stealth Studio is a custom “urban stealth mobile apartment and office” built inside an 18′ Ford E-250 box truck. The customer, Jason, was an urban designer with a consulting business who was looking to join a graduate program in urban planning. He wanted a mobile living and working space that was self-sustaining and low-profile enough to live for extended periods of time in urban areas. He also required secure storage for up to two bicycles plus climbing gear. He had moderate experience in home renovation and was looking for a designer that could work with him to make the build largely self-executable in order to control his costs.

The design process started with several consultations in order to thoroughly understand the customer’s needs, wants and lifestyle. This effort to understand both the client’s expressed desires and his implicit

Services Provided:
  • Build completed in late 2020
  • Full project design within customer-supplied vehicle
    • Structural
    • Cabinetry
    • Lighting
    • Water systems
    • Structural
    • Human usability
  • Blueprint and reference document generation
  • Consulting and troubleshooting on electrical system installation
  • Consulting and troubleshooting on plumbing system installation
  • Consulting and troubleshooting on heating system installation
  • Extensive steel fabrication
  • Vehicle shell modification

Features and Specs

Customer Design Directives
  • Cost effectiveness
  • Extremely high stealth factor
  • High resale value
  • Comfort for living and working
  • Eco-friendly construction
  • Apartment feel
  • Low maintenance/ease of use
  • Self-buildable
  • Customer-supplied Ford E-250 with 18′ box as build platform
Electrical
  • 500 watts solar
  • Easy bolt-on expansion to 600 watts
  • 420 Amp Hours Li-Ion
  • 3000 W Victron inverter
  • Victron MPPT controller
  • Victron system Bluetooth enabled
  • Automatic alternator tie
Climate Control
  • Webasto heater (gasoline)
  • 2x Maxxair fans
  • Side-mount openable window
  • Free-standing AC unit
  • Embedded mylar heat shield in roof for enhanced solar rejection
  • 3.5″ Havlock wool-based insulation in walls
  • 2″ closed-cell spray foam insulation in ceiling
  • 1.5″ closed-cell spray foam insulation in floor
Stealth Features
  • Main entry through driver’s cabin
  • Side utility entry
  • Hidden emergency exit
  • Extreme low-profile solar roof array
  • Low-profile work truck exterior
  • All venting invisible from street level
  • Rear access door maintains appearance of factory-supplied rollup door
Vehicle Modifications
  • Rear rollup door converted to fold-down access hatch/deployable deck
  • Sliding RV-type window added to box wall
  • External greywater tank added
  • External accessory fuel tank added for heater/vehicle reserve tank
Fresh Water System
  • 55 gallon internal fresh water tank
  • Automatic fresh water fill shut-off
  • Easily-accessed fresh fill inlet
  • 45 psi/6 gpm pump
  • 6 gallon electric water heater
Greywater System
  • 45 gallons capacity
  • External tank, heavily insulated
  • Integrated automatic heating pad
Jarrod Tocci: Stealth Box Truck TOUR – Studio Apt on Wheels
Tiny House Giant Journey: His fabulous studio apartment is hidden inside a work truck!

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